Asher Lehrer-Small

Asher Lehrer-Small

Moderation in Vermont

Here in Vermont, it is vital for us to exhibit moderation. Many things that we use in excess such as manure, fertilizer, and dish soap harm our main lake, Lake Champlain. We are a small and rural state that depends on our environment. We love to farm, maple sugar, go out boating, and hike. It is extremely important that we not abuse the the forests, valleys, mountains, and lakes that allow us to do those activities. One such lake is struggling due to a lack of moderation on our part. You may not be aware, but our beloved Lake Champlain has become much less healthy due to agricultural and domestic runoff. In many places Lake Champlain has been unswimmable due to algae blooms created by high phosphorous levels. The high phosphorous levels are mainly because Vermonters and Vermont farmers are overdoing their mulching, fertilizing, and manuring. We need to be less heavy-handed. Here in the green mountain state, the mountains aren't the only thing that is green. We need to use moderation to help Lake Champlain recover.

Phosphorous getting into Lake Champlain is a problem because it causes blue green algae blooms and excessive plant growth. The blue green algae is what would make your local beach close because the water is “unswimmable”. This is a common occurrence in St. Albans and Missisquoi Bay. There have been accounts of pets getting into water that has a lot of blue green algae and then dying. Needless to say, the algae blooms are not healthy for the fish. It is dangerous to eat fish from certain places in Lake Champlain. Saving our lake is not impossible, but we need everybody to pitch in and demonstrate some moderation.

One major pollutant that is contributing much of the phosphorous is cow manure. Our quaint little farms that provide healthy food to our community aren't quite as eco friendly as you may have thought. In fact, runoff of manure from farms into Lake Champlain is the biggest contribution to our phosphorous problem. What Vermont farmers need to do is only use the amount of manure that they absolutely need. Any extra will just flow into the local streams and eventually into Lake Champlain. When the farmers over-manure, they don't even get more fertile soil because all the extra manure washes away after the first rain. They need to be more moderate with their manuring in the spring. Our farmers make a name for our state with their milk, vegetables, and animals, but they need to help make a new name for our state as being clean, green, and eco-friendly.

It's not only farmers that need to be moderate. Each and every one of us has a responsibility to only use what we need. Another big contributor to the phosphorous problem is the fertilizer that many of us spread on our lawns. When it rains, most of the fertilizer just flows off the lawn and right into part of the Lake Champlain watershed and eventually into Lake Champlain itself. There are three ways for you as a citizen to help that problem. You can stop using your fertilizer all together, you can cut down on your fertilizer use and only put on what you need, or you can very easily just switch to a non-phosphorous type of lawn fertilizer. It is our responsibility as citizens to do what we can to save the lake that everybody loves so well. It doesn't take a huge sacrifice, but if everyone does what they can, then it will make a giant difference.

That's not the only thing you can do as a normal citizen. You can also plant trees. A fun activity with your kid could be planting a couple trees in your back yard. This helps prevent erosion, and also helps keep the fertilizer and dog poop that might be on your lawn from finding it's way into the lake. It is a win-win, the trees look pretty, and they help save the lake. The trees can do even more of the latter if they are planted by the lake or near a river that runs into it. That keeps the dirt that would most likely end up in the water where it is.

One last way you can do your part is by switching dishwashing soap. At your nearby supermarket, you can find phosphorous-free dishwashing soaps in the natural food section. Some phosphorous-free brands are Bi-O-Kleen, Citra-Dish, EcoVer, and Seventh Generation. It is good to use phosphorous-free soap because once it runs into your septic tank it can leech into the ground and run into the lake. That's not likely unless you don't empty your septic tank every two or three years though. The main way the phosphorous infested detergent would get into the lake is after the septic services take it. Assuming all of the waste is being dealt with legally, it gets taken to a sewage treatment plant. In a perfect world, this would be the perfect system and none of the detergent would get to the lake. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world.

You as an individual do not need to obsess over helping the lake, because as much as you try, only a collective effort will clean our lake. Everyone just needs to do some little things. Be moderate with your fertilizer, maybe switch your soap brand. I'm not asking you to invent a de-phosphorousizing machine. Farmers, just use less manure. That would make the biggest impact on the water quality of Lake Champlain. If we all are moderate, we can enjoy a healthy lake together.